Improvement in air-pressure taps



UNITED STATES CHARLES BONSALL AND THEODORE BERGNER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA.

IMPROVEMENT IN AIR-PRESSURE TAPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,857, dated August -8, 187].

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES T. BONsALL and THEODORE BERGNER, both of the city of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improved Device for Drawing and Forcing Liquids from Barrels, which we term a Combined Tapping-Tube and Air- Feeder,77 and of which the following is a specication:

Our invention relates to the combination of devices for drawing or forcing liquids from barrels, and for simultaneously admitting an equivalent amount of air in such a manner that only one opening (spigot-hole) is required in the barrel for both purposes. This opening is provided in the upper part ofthe barrel when placed in the position most convenient for drawing its contents, and into it we insert the outer body or airfeeder of our improved device, which contains the channels for conducting the air to the interior of the barrel. Into this air-feeder we fit a telescopically-sliding tube, which passes through suitable air-tight packing, and may be pushed into the contents of the barrel to any desired depth. The objects of this part of our invention are, first, to avoid tapping the barrel in two places; and secondly, by tapping the barrel at the top only, to guard against the waste ofliquid, which cannot be entirely avoided, and is often considerable when the barrel is tapped at the side or bottom. The packing for the tube is suspended within the chamber of the air-feeder in such a manner that the compressed air conducted through this chamber for forcing the liquid through the tube shall tend to tighten said packing against the tube, and thus effectually prevent leakage of air or liquid. For drawing liquids which at first are clearest at the top and continue to throw sediment to the bottom of the barrel, our telescopically-sliding tube possesses the important advantage of being so adjustable as to commence taking the liquid from near the top of the barrel; .pushing it downward by degrees, as the contents are diminished in bulk, it will always take its supply from the clearest part of the liquid, until it nally draws the barrel empty when reaching to the bottom. The invention consists of the air-feeder having a chamber and ducts or passages, and a plug or valve for closing the air and liquid-passages in connection with the tapping-tube and a packing therefor, so

suspended as to be prevented from falling and closing the air-eduction pipe.

Figure lis a detached sectional view of our combined tapping-tube and air-feeder. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a barrel with our improved device attached. Fig. 3 is a vertical section, showing the manner of fixing the outer body or airfeeder in the barrel previous to inserting the tapping-tube. Figure 4 is a section through line x y, Fig. l.

A is the body of the air-feeder, its tapering shank being shaped to fit various sizes of holes in the manner of an ordinary spigot. B is the tapping-tube; it slides freely through a long` hole in the lower part of A. The air is admitted at b and conduct-ed from the chamber c to the interior ofthe barrel through longitudinal grooves or channels a a surrounding the tube B. C is an elastic packing, secured from above by a screwfollower, I), and suspended in the air-chamber c in such a manner thatthe compressed airrequired for forcing the liquid upward through the tube B will effectually tighten the packing around this tube.

The manner of atta ching our improved device to the barrel is as follows: The body A, froml which the tube B is withdrawn, but which may always remain connected to a ieXible tube at b for supplying the air, has at its lower end a cavity, c, into which a fiat washer or plug, g, Fig. 3, of cork or other suitable material, is pressed to v stop the pipe-opening and surrounding channels a a.. In this condition A is driven into the tapping-hole of the barrel, the screw-follower being so let in at the top that it cannot be injured by blows of the mallet in driving the body A into the barrel. All communication through A remains closed by the plug g until the tube B is inserted through the packing from above, and in its descent pushes the plug g before it into the barrel. This at once opens the communication of the tube B and air-channels a a with the interior of the barrel, and the whole is ready for drawing the liquid from the barrel by opening the cock in eduction-pipe f, attached to the upper end of tube B. This tube is at its lower end provided with a series of small holes, c' i, so that the flow of the contents of the barrel may not be stopped by pushing down the pipe until it' rests on the bottom.

It will be evident that the same apparatus may I be used with equal advantage for forcing the liquid through B, or for drawing it through this pipe from the barrel by suction 5 in the former ease the air is supplied from any suitable source, and of suflicient force to elevate the liquid to any required height, while in the case of suction of the liquid the air-chamber c need only communicate through b with the atmosphere.

It will also be readily understood that the use of the plug g in A might be avoided by letting the pipe B always remain in A, and providing a projection on the side of the latter, near the top, to strike upon in forcing it into the barrel; but we prefer the method above described, since it simplifies the operation and guards against injury to the pipe, which could hardly be avoided by ordinary care in the use of the mallet with the pipe B remaining in A. ln place ofthe plug g a valve of suitable description might be so attached to the lower end of A as to remain closed by a spring or by the pressure of the liquid from within, until opened by the insertion ofthe tube B 5 but we prefer the plug as being the simplest and not liable to derangement.

We are aware that the air-feeder and tube are not new, and, therefore, do not claim them.

We claim as our invention- The body A, formed with the airchamber c and duets a, and the plug or valve g for closing the air and liquidpassages, in combination with the tapping-tube B and the suspended packing C, constructed and operating in the manner described.

CHARLES T. BONSALL. THEODORE BE'RGNER. Witnesses:

Jos. BARNHURsT, ELLwooD BoNsALL. 

